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1884 




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Commemorative Exercises 



of the 



Two-Hundredth Anniversary 



of the 



Friends' Meeting-House, 



at 



Third Haven. 



Including an Account of the Settlement of Friends in Talbot County, 
Maryland, from the year 1657 to the present time. 



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Easton, Md., 8-28-1884. 



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Press of 

Times Printing House, 

Philadelphia, Pa. 



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Introduction 





T 



WO hundred years ! An epoch of generations ! The 
Httle band of worshipers who have from time to time 
met in this old " time-honored " house, in our quiet 
gatherings oft revert to the times agone. A historical 
retrospect, a summing up of the trials endured, the hardships 
surmounted, the faith maintained in the principles and religious 
views the disseminating and fostering of which, this dear old 
house was built, we desire to commemorate its two-hundredth 
anniversary, not alone, to bring more forcibly to those gath- 
ered with us the firm, true standard — the rock of truth within, 
upon which our society has always stood, — but to compare the 
" Then and Now." With the march of time, and with it the 
necessary progress, the growth of intellect, the attending 
accumulation of possibilities, all force us to the belief that as 
" more is given, more is required of us." Then it is well 
to compare our lives with those who have preceded us ; 
and, mindful of the future when, generations hence, these 
services will, we hope, add some interesting data upon a simi- 
lar occasion. This monthly meeting, concurring in these views, 
appointed the following committee to take the proper action 
therein : Robert B. Dixon, S. Amanda Dixon, John C. Bart- 
lett, Matilda J. Bartlett, Sue B. Kemp, Mary A. Dixon, 



Isabella Kemp, Joseph Bartlett, Mary L. Kelley, Samuel Yeo, 
Elma Wilson, Charles Shanahan, Annie Woodall, Edward 
Powell. After due deliberation the committee submitted its 
labors to the monthly meeting, receiving its approval. The 
day upon which meeting was first held in the old building, 
being 8th month 24th, 1684, it was deemed best to commem- 
orate that event upon what is termed " youths' day " of the 
ensuing quarterly meeting, 8th month 28th, 1884, being a 
season of enlarged attendance upon ordinary occasions. There- 
upon the committee gave general invitation through the 
Friends' Intelligejicer and Journal. Printed invitations were 
also sent to many who it was thought would have special 
interest in the occasion. From many of these encouraging 
responses were received. Many of the aged, upon whom the 
years and labor of life begin lo " read as a written page," 
cheered us by the assurances of their spiritual, if not material, 
presence. The day dawned upon us most beautifully. At the 
hour of meeting, 10 A. M., the spacious and venerable old house 
was filled, many being obliged to stand at the doors and windows. 
This generous outpouring was composed of many prominent 
Friends from a distance, among whom were Thomas and Lydia 
Hall, of West Chester, Pa. ; Edward Webster and wife, Clayton 
and Dr. Sarah E. Rogers, Hunn Jenkins, Patience J. Needles 
and Alice M. Needles, Lydia W. Evans, John J. White, Bessie 
White, Lizzie A. Hopkins, Mary B. Hopkins, George Robbins 
and Joseph Powell, of Philadelphia ; Edwin Blackburn, Joseph 
Mathews, Mary D. Hull, James D. Hull, William T. Dixon, 
John B. Dixon, Edward H. Stabler, Eli M. Lamb and Edward 
Eldridge, of Baltimore ; Sarah West, William and Rebecca 
West, Joseph and Mary W. Thomas, of King of Prussia, Pa. ; 
Robert R. Moore and William W. Moore, of Sandy Springs, 
Md. ; Garrett and Mary E. Amoss, of Fallston, Md. ; Amos 



Peasley, of Greenwich, N. J., and Ann Barber, of Pedrick- 
town, N. J.; Mary B. and Helen C. Pyle, Wilmington, Del.; 
Martin W. and Jane Maloney, Avondale, Pa. ; I. Kemp, Vir- 
ginia; Nellie and Howard Bartlett, of Balto; Alfred Kemp, 
of Houston, Texas ; Hannah Clark, Francis and Marshall 
Wilkinson, of Kennett Square, Pa., and others. We were 
favored with large numbers from the village and surround- 
ing country, representing many religious denominations, 
numbering about eight hundred persons, conveyed to the 
memorable place by one hundred and twenty-five vehicles ; 
thus making the spacious grounds alive with anxious, intelli- 
gent faces, eager to hear something of the society, of which 
many know so little. 

Samuel J. Levick opened the exercises by a most solemn 
and impressive supplication, following by brief introductory 
remarks. Then Robert B. Dixon read '' An Historical Record 
of Third Haven Meeting-House." 




An Historical Record 
of Third Haven Meeting-House. 

Written by Sue B. Kemp. 

We meet on this occasion to commemorate the two- 
hundredth anniversary of this Third Haven meeting-house, 
where generation after generation of the ancestors of this and 
other communities have assembled twice a week for the pur- 
pose of divine worship. 

These devout Friends have long since " paid the debt we 
must all pay," and untold numbers of them are slumbering in 
the quiet graveyard within the enclosure near by. And many 
a spot, sacred to some of,the descendants, is unknown because 
of the unwillingness, until recent years, to admit tombstones 
to distinguish their resting-places. 

These declining oak-trees, so emblematical of human 
nature, are the remnant of a majestic forest which doubtless 
existed when this property was purchased by the society for the 
erection of this quaint but substantial building which ranks as 
one of the oldest, if it does not antedate any other church on 
this peninsula, having been built previous to the present 
Swedes' Church in Wilmington, which was erected in 1698. 

Several meeting-houses in Maryland, however, preceded 
this one. 



The earliest account (we have) of the settlement * of 
Friends on the eastern shore of Maryland bears the date of 
1657 (three years after the establishment of Talbot County), 
when three missionaries of the sect, Josiah Cole, Thomas 
Thurstan and Thomas Campbell, about the end of that year, 
induced by the severity of the laws under Fendall's adminis- 
tration, came from Virginia into Maryland; here they were 
reprimanded by the council for refusing to subscribe the " en- 
gagement " or formal act of submission to the authority of 
Lord Baltimore, also in committing the offense of remaining 
covered in court (refusing to remove their hats), " alleging 
they were to be governed by God's laws, and not by man's 
laws." 

They were, however, ordered to leave the province if they 
would not yield, which it is supposed they did for a time, 
though Thomas Thurstan returned to Maryland (on a pedes- 
trian tour) the following year. 

In i659t William Robinson, Robert Hodgson and Chris- 
topher Holder visited Maryland, and were instrumental in con- 
vincing many of the doctrine of Friends — Quakers,! ^^ 
they were frequently called, which name was given them in 
derision by one of the persecuting justices (Gerves Bennet), 
because George Fox bade them tremble at the word of the 
Lord. The name of " Friend," adopted by their infant society, 
was in accordance with the language of the blessed Jesus to 
his disciples : " Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I com- 
mand you," etc. 

In 1^60, § by an act of the Virginia Assembly, Friends 
were expelled from that colony, under severe penalties, and 



*Schart's History of Maryland, 
f Janney's Life of Fox. 
J Janney's History of Friends. 
gScharf's History of Maryland. 



compelled to seek a refuge in Maryland, having first petitioned 
Governor Calvert to afford them facilities for settling here ; 
and in compliance therewith, in 1651, he commissioned Colonel 
Scarborough and others to grant lands on the eastern shore of 
Maryland for those families who wished to come from Virginia 
here. These offers appear to have been gladly accepted by 
them, and those of other persuasions. 

And, although Friends were misjudged and derided for 
their peculiar ideas and mode of worship, yet they met with 
more clemency and suffrage than they had formerly done, 
infinitely so, compared with some of their members who were 
obliged to flee from the persecutions of England, New Eng- 
land and other countries, or suffer torture and death for 
remaining. The harshness of this treatment w^as largely 
attributable to Puritan influence, from whom we had a right to 
expect more sympathy, they also having suffered for their faith, 
— though Roger Williams and his little band of followers may 
be excepted from the other oppressors of the sect. But these 
religious persecutions* were greatly modified after the Tolera- 
tion Act was passed in both Houses of the Maryland Assembly 
in 1649, enacted by Csecilius Calvert, Lord Proprietor of 
Maryland, and in later years recognized as a law, which would 
have been void without liis assent. He was desirous of 
increasing the population of his colony by immigration of men 
of worth and enterprise, and having inherited some of the gen- 
erosity of soul which his father possessed, induced this noble 
act. But history tells us that credit is due to George Calvert, 
First Lord Baltimore, for originating the thought and wish 
which was afterwards embraced by his son, Caecilius. 

Maryland, therefore, claims the first honor of granting 
fhis free, just, and Christian privilege ; and making this colony 

* Scharf' s History of Maryland. 



a sanctuary for all religious denominations, thus promoting 
growth and prosperity to all. 

Our primitive and quiet sect flourished also ; and several 
meetings were established, principally in Talbot and Anne 
Arundel counties, one at Wye, another at Little Choptank 
rivers ; Kent County had one meeting-house on Island Creek ; 
one in Calvert County near Leonard Creek ; two Friends, but 
no meeting-house in Charles County ; neither in Baltimore, 
Prince George's, St. Mary's, Somerset or Dorchester counties. 

In Talbot County there was a frame meeting-house at 
the head of Tred-Avon Creek (now corrupted into Third 
Haven) near the present . town of Easton, and three smaller 
clapboard houses at other points ; the former of these must 
have been the one known as " Betty's Cove," on Miles River, 
located near the boundary line between the farms of R. B. 
Dixon and the heirs of Dr. Cherbonnier, and comprising ten 
acres of ground, part of which was a graveyard, beside space 
enough for a school-house, and a teacher employed under the 
direction of Friends. 

Meetings were held alternately here and at private houses,' 
until the year 1684. We have no record of when the meeting 
or school-houses were built. 

The second minute on our records shows it was enlarged 
and repaired in 1676. The graveyard had a new fence around 
it in 1694, for which they paid 1600 pounds of tobacco (that 
being the currency then). The house was repaired again in 
1704, and mid-week meetings were sometimes held there. 
The premises were enclosed with a new fence in 1 708, though 
the property was abandoned in 1693 for the great meeting- 
house. The minute is as follows : 

" Att our Joint Quarterly Meeting for both shores, held at 
y^ house of Ralph Fishbourne, y^' 27th day of y'' first Mo. 



March, (O. S.) 1693. It having been often proposed to several 
meetings y* the meeting of Betty's Cove should be removed to 
y® great meeting-house for sundry weighty reasons offered to 
y^ Yearly Meeting att West River, and by s'^ Yearly Meeting 
referred to a monthly meeting, att which it was discoursed, and 
several P'riends being absent, y* were therein concerned, it 
could not be thoroughly concluded, wherefore, it was referred 
to this meeting, and this meeting having weightily considered 
y® matter, and y® Friends y* were absent at y® Monthly Meeting 
be now present, it is unanimously agreed that Betty's Cove 
meeting be removed to y^ great meeting-house." 

There is evidence, however, that efforts were made for 
some time to preserve the property from decay, especially the 
graveyard, wherein repose many of the original Friends, some 
of whom comprised the worthy ancestors of this community, 
and who met in this humble meeting-house to worship their 
Lord and Saviour according to their simple but earnest 
manner. 

But, as the expiration of time removes the actors upon 
this mundane sphere, and effaces landmarks, thus these 
boundary lines, too, have vanished. 

" So the multitude goes, like the flower or the weed 
That withers away to let others succeed : 
So the multitude comes, even those we behold, 
To repeat every tale that has often been told." 

Among the prominent Friends who belonged to this 
meeting, and whose remains are probably resting there, was 
Wenlock Christison, who was tried in the Court of Boston* 
for the dauntless adherence to his faith, sentenced to be 
hanged, but was released (with twenty-seven other Friends 

* Janney's Life of Friends. 

II 



who were incarcerated in the same prison). In consequence of 
the disapproval of the Engh"sh Government to their severe 
punishment, the authorities were obhged to mitigate their 
treatment. An order was issued by King Charles II., and 
sent over by special messengers in a ship from England, 
chartered by Friends, but before it arrived at Boston the 
prisoners had been liberated. 

Wenlock Christison soon after this went to Barbadoes, 
and subsequently came to reside in Maryland, located near 
Miles River, and in the vicinity of Betty's Cove meeting-house. 

Many familiar names appear on the records, of those who 
mingled there in meeting capacity, viz. : John Edmondson, 
Wm. Southbee, Howell Powell, Thomas Taylor, John Pem- 
berton, Wm. Cole, John Dickinson, Lovelace and Charles 
Gorsuch, Wm. Berry, John Pitt, Ralph Fishbourne, Wm. 
Dixon, Richard Johns, Robert Kemp, Thomas Bartlett, Wm. 
Sharp, Ennion Williams, Peter Webb, Solomon Sparrow, 
Abraham Bir.khead and others. Many occupied offices of 
State as well as important positions, both religiously and 
socially. 

It must have been this meeting which the founder of our 
society, George Fox, attended on two different occasions, 3d of 
Sth mo., (O. S.) 1672, and again in 1673. He described it in 
one part of his journal as being situated near Miles River, and, 
in another instance, at Tredhaven Creek. He said it held five 
days. The first three meetings were for public worship, to 
which people of all sorts came. The other two were spent in 
men's and women's meetings (for discipline). 

These public meetings were attended by Protestants, 
Papists, magistrates and their wives, and persons of chief 
account in the county, as well as Indian emperors. It was 
thought there were a thousand, sometimes, at one of these 



meetings, and though they had enlarged the meeting-house as 
"big " again, it could not contain the people. He was enter- 
tained by John Edmondson, who owned and resided on the 
farm known as " Cedar Point," and now in the possession of 
Joseph Price's daughters. 

It is therefore probable that George Fox referred to 
Third Haven River, when he said, '' I went by boat every 
day four or five miles to the meetings, and there were so 
many boats at that time passing upon the river that it was 
almost like the river Thames." People said there never were 
so many boats seen there before. 

The marshy ground on the Cherbonnier farm would indi- 
cate that Miles River had receded, consequently it is presumable 
that the space of land between the two rivers (Tred-Avon and 
Miles) was narrower then, and that both were visible. As tra- 
dition informs us, George Fox remarked he could see both 
rivers from the meeting-house door. 

John Burny^at, * Robert Widders and George Pattison 
(also ministers) were his companions on this religious visit to 
the Eastern Shore. They likewise attended other meetings in 
this vicinity, some of -which were held at private houses ; 
besides, he had several interviews with Indians who inhabited 
this neighborhood, of which the Algonquins, Susquehan- 
noughs, Iroquois and Powhatamies were the principal tribes. 

Afterwards they went to New England, encountering 
many hardships en route from the exposure to the elements, their 
only means of transportation being by horseback and boats. 

In those days of the early settlers it is supposed vehicles 
were a rare luxury, as persons seemed to travel through the 
forests on horseback, sometimes by the aid of Indian guides, 
or by water, in boats. 



* Janney's Life of Fox. 



A minute on our records proves that the Society owned a 
boat called " The Good Will," especially for the accommo- 
dation of ministers and traveling Friends, as well as a horse 
for their convenience. 

In 1737 there was a larger boat purchased for Chester 
River for the benefit of those who attended that Quarterly 
Meeting. 

William Edmundson and John Fletcher, ministers (from 
Ireland) attended " Betty's Cove" Meeting, and those at private 
houses in the neighborhood, in 1676. 

George Fox* and companions held their second series of 
meetings at " Betty's Cove," and other adjacent places, after 
their return from New England, and then crossed to the West- 
ern Shore of Maryland, held meetings at West River and 
other places; soon after set sail for England (21st of 3d Mo., 
(O. S.) 1673). He died in 1690, and there is no account that 
he ever visited America the second time. Several letters and 
epistles were received from him, and read in the Quarterly and 
Yearly Meetings held at this Third Haven meeting-house, and 
committees were appointed to reply to them. Minutes show 
that a letter of advice in regard to the discipline of the church, as 
well as a parcel of books, were found after his death directed to 
this meeting, desiring them to be presented as a token of his love. 
(William Penn's letters show that George Fox felt great solici- 
tude for friends in America.) Some of the books are still in exis- 
tence, and constitute a part of the old library which originated 
at Betty's Cove Meeting, and is said to be the first public library 
in this county,t and probably in this province, being established 
long before the Bishop of London, through Commissary Bray, 
introduced parochial libraries in this province. 

* Fox's Journal. 

t Dr. Harrison's Account. 

14 



A fund has frequently been collected by the members for 
the purpose of renewing the supply of books, and additions 
have been made, but, if it had increased in proportion to its age, 
might be more creditable than it is. 

It has never been ascertained whether a meeting record 
was ever kept prior to the year 1673, or whether it was 
destroyed. There is one minute, bearing that date, in regard 
to the hour for assembling the "General Meeting," and no 
more for a space of three years, but there has been a continued 
record since 1676 to the present time. 

A minute, stating that in 168 1 a proposition was made at 
the Half Year's Meeting at West River, that a meeting-house 
should be built for a Half Year's, Quarterly and other meet- 
ings on this shore, former ones having been held at Betty's 
Cove and private houses, alternately with West River. A com- 
mittee was appointed to select a site, and submit the agreement 
to a future meeting, which it appears was done, by the follow- 
ing minute, narnely : 

" This meeting, according to y® advice of y® last Half 
Year's Meeting makes choice of William Southbee, Henry 
Woolchurch, Wm. SJiarp, Lovelace Gorsuch and William 
Stevens, Jun'r, to purchase y^land for y^ meeting-house of John 
Edmondson, viz., three acres, and to get a firm conveyance for 
it, with free egress and progress to y^ s^ land according to a 
deed of uses, and also y* y® s*^ John Edmondson and y^ afores^^ 
Friends, advise together for y® most convenient place upon the 
said land to sett y^ house upon, and also to agree with y® car- 
penter or carpenters for y*^ building of y® said house, accord- 
ing to the dimensions hereafter specified, 60 foote long, 44 
foote wide — and to be strong, substantiall framed work, with 
good white oak ground sills and posts, with girders and sum- 
mers, and small joyst, and y^ upper- floors to be laid with plank, 

15 



and y® roof to be double raftered, and good principal rafters, 
every lo foot, and to be double studded below, and to be well 
braced and windows convenient, and shutters, and good large 
stairs into y^ chambers, which chambers are to be 40 foote 
square at each end of y® house, so y* they may be intire and 
20 foote vacant betwixt them ; and for other conveniencys to 
be left to the discretion of y® aforesaid Friends." 

This building was commenced in 1682, and two years 
were consumed in its construction, as the timber had to be 
hewn with a broad-axe, and finished with such tools as were 
used in that day, having none of the modern improvements of 
this age to facilitate the work, or a ready force of skilled 
^v^orkmen to hasten it. 

Minutes show that it has been repaired frequently, and 
was enlarged in 1797. 

Quit rents were paid for the land for many years. A 
minute states that the meeting authorized Howell Powell to 
clear the quit rent of y*^ land for the time past, and do so 
annually for time to come, and get a receipt for the same." 

The first meeting held in this house was a Monthly Meet- 
ing, and bears the date of y® 24th of y^ 8th Mo., Oct. (O. S.) 
1684, and was occupied from that time until ist Mo. 4th, 1880, 
when the meetings were removed to the new brick meeting- 
house near this. 

The first Quarterly Meeting held here was y^ 5th of y^ 
loth Mo., Dec. (O. S.) 1684. The time has since been changed 
to suit the convenience of members from the various meetings, 
as well as traveling Friends and ministers. 

For a period of one hundred and two years the Half 
Year's Meetings were held on this shore, at Betty's Cove, 
private houses, and from 1684 at this house, alternately with 
West River ; later, a Yearly Meeting alternated with this for 

16 



eleven years. In 1785 West River Meeting was abandoned 
for one in "Baltimore Town;" and for five years that was held 
at intervals with this, and embraced as Baltimore Yearly 
Meeting. 

An arrangement was made in 1790 for holding this 
Quarterly Meeting twice yearly here, and at "Little Creek," 
(afterwards removed to Camden in 1868), constituting the 
Southern Quarter; and from that date (1790) we haVe belonged 
to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting: 

The Yearly Meeting at West River must have been very 
large, and the settlement small and scattered, as we learn from 
tradition that members who attended from this shore were 
provided with tents for the accommodation of those who could 
not be entertained by the residents. Stone, crockery and 
pewter ware was taken for the purpose of serving their meals. 
We can imagine that this novel experience of camp life was 
not distasteful to the younger portion of the congregation. 

A minute on the records shows that in 1692 a tent-house 
of good dimensions was built at West River by the members 
of this meeting as a home during the Yearly Meeting there. 
It was repaired in 1737, and again in 1754, and in 1764 an 
addition- was built to the said house. 

One was also built at Wye River in 1723 ; and judging 
from a minute dated 6th of 12th month 1690, a house was 
erected on these grounds, near the river side, for the accom- 
modation of visitors from a distance (the two chambers over 
the meeting rooms probably being insufficient), though it 
does not appear to have been designated as a tent-house. A 
tent of some material was said to have been used at a later 
date. 

The statement is, ''That Friends on this shore are to pay 
to Ralph Fishbourne 2041 lbs. of tobacco ; It being y^ one half 

17 



of what he disbursed for building y^ house for conveniency of 
Friends from a distance, at the creek side, near our Great 
Meeting-house ; which said amount is to be paid as followeth, 
viz. : Tuccahoe Meeting one hhd. Bay Side Meeting one hhd, 
Choptank and Little Choptank meetings the same, as well as 
an equal amount from this meetmg." 

As late as the early part of this century, some persons now 
living can remember when they went to and from this meeting in 
row or sail boats (in preference to carriages), and only had to walk 
a very short distance ; this tributary of Third Haven River, 
which is merely a ditch now, being navigable then. 

It is evident that provisions were furnished these Friends 
by the members here, if they were not already supplied. 

The minute in regard to it, reads : 

'* This meeting considering y® great distance y* many Friends 
have to come both by land and water, y* may repair to our 
Yearly Meeting, whereby they may want necessarys, there- 
fore this Monthly Meeting appoints Joseph Rogers to inquire 
into y® same, and to give Friends account, y* so they may be 
supplied if any want to be." 

Thus proving it was not a spirit of inhospitality that pre- 
vented all visitors from being entertained at private houses, 
but doubtless an inability to accommodate the large number 
who came, or to find means of transportation for them. 

The Johns, Tuckers, Atkinsons and Parrishs were a few 
of the resident members at West River. 

The "Yearly Meeting of Maryland," in 1684, was com- 
posed of the following particular meetings, viz. : Choptank, 
Tuckahoe, Betty's Cove, Patuxent, Cliffs, Herring Creek, West 
River, Severn, Animessex, Sasafrax, Chester River, Bay-side, 
Muddy or Marshy Creek, Munny, Nasswadox, Corratonean, 
Petawax, Upper Machadoc and Tred-Haven. 

18 



This Quarterly Meeting at one time comprised eight 
preparative meetings, namely: Cecil, « Chester, Choptank, 
Tuckahoe, Bay-side, Transquaking (in Dorchester County), 
and, later, one in Queen Ann's and Marshy Creek, also an in- 
dulged meeting at Greensborough. The names of some of 
the members who composed this particular meeting were the 
Coles, Richardsons, Cleeves, Taylors, Fishbournes, Powells, 
Harwoods, Pitts, Edmondsons, Sharps, Berrys; Dixons, Nealls, 
Kemps, Williams, Atkinsons, Bartletts, Needles, Moores, 
Dickinsons, Hopkins, Wilsons, Wickershams, Cockaynes, 
Wainrights, Fairbanks, Sherwoods, Troths, Parrotts, Bowers, 
Dawsons, Bruffs, Maloneys, Atwells, Yeos, and many others, 
beside the Nicholite Friends and the late settlers here. 

Many of the descendants of the above are active members 
at this time. 

In 1682 two representatives from each meeting Avere 
appointed to give an account of the business transactions and 
report the condition of each meeting. 

Printed queries were introduced in 1725. Select meetings 
organized in 1699. 

For several years monthly meetings were held two days 
in succession. The reports varied but little in expression, but 
it is evident, from their length, that considerable business was 
accomplished. As the smaller meetings declined, others were 
established elsewhere. Some resigned, or suffered themselves 
to be disowned on account of the slavery question, which 
agitated the minds of Friends at an early date ; and many 
were disowned for marrying those not in membership with us, 
in consequence of the ceremonies being performed by a min- 
ister or priest (for they styled all by that appellation), because 
tortures had so frequently been inflicted through their instru- 
mentality ; therefore, a breach of the discipline in that respect 

19 



was deemed almost an unpardonable offense ; but from a 
decrease of members, and a more charitable spirit toward all 
Christian denominations (which promotes influence and 
the growth) rules of discipline in this particular (as in others) 
have relaxed very greatly. 

Marriage intentions in those days were announced in the 
meeting by the parties themselves, in both the men's and 
women's meetings, on two separate occasions, and thirdly, in 
a written form, together with the written consent of the parents 
of both, consequently it embraced three months before the 
ceremony was accomplished. 

At the present epoch the " passing," as it is termed, is 
settled in writing. The first marriage on our meeting records 
bears the date of 1668, and was more concise than the present 
form. It reads as follows : 

"William Southbee, of Talbot Co., in the province of 
Maryland, the 29th day of the First Month (O. S.) and in the 
year 1668, in an Assembly of the people of God, called 
Quakers, at their meeting, at the house of Isaac Abrahams, 
solemnly in the fear of God, took Elizabeth Read of the afore- 
said county and province, spinster to be his wife ; and she, the 
said Elizabeth Read, did then and there, in like manner, take 
the said William Southbee to be her husband, each of them 
promising to be faithful to each other. To which the meeting 
now witnesseth, by signature." 

A regular record of marriages, births and death has been 
kept since 1698, and it appears even earlier than that, by the 
date of the above certificate. 

In 1695 this meeting recommended that all of its con- 
stituent branches in Talbot and other counties should be tran- 
scribed on the county records in which the meetings were 
located. 



Settlements of estates, contracts (either legal or otherwise), 
all disagreements, also consent asked for certificates of removal, 
and for traveling Friends and ministers, as well as for approval 
of marriages, were submitted to the meeting, and committees 
appointed to investigate the clearness of the cases. 

Tobacco being the currency for many years, all collections 
and business transactions of the church were made in that 
way, except in occasional donations of grain, produce, furni- 
ture, cattle, etc., though the English currency of £. s. d. was 
introduced later. The first collection in money was made in 

1713- 

In that era* tobacco seemed to be the staple crop. The 
Indians considered it a sacred herb, a precious gift of the Great 
Spirit to his children, and the act of smoking (with them) 
has always something of a ceremonial or even a religious 
character. , - 

Friends were conscientiously opposed to paying tithes ; 
but their personal effects and slaves were often seized to the 
amount equivalent to the assessment, though they were com- 
pensated out of the meeting's fund for their loss. 

The records show- that care has been exercised in pro- 
viding for indigent members when afflicted or unable to 
support themselves, and assistance rendered to fit others for 
business. 

The subject of education claimed their early attention, and 
several schools have been established under their superinten- 
dence. A school-house was built on a portion of this ground 
in 1782, but was removed to Easton in 1791, and taught at 
different times by Samuel Hutton, James Iddings, Mary Dick- 
inson, and Thomas Pearsons. 

A proposition was made in 1816 to move this meeting- 

* Scharf's History of Maryland. 



nouse there ; a lot of ground was purchased, and bricks burned 
for the purpose, but the matter was reconsidered and thought 
inadvisable. 

Friends were much exercised in regard to taking oaths. 
This meeting applied for an act of the English Parliament on 
the subject ; and in 1681 Richard Johns and William Berry- 
were requested by the Meeting to appeal to the Maryland 
Assembly to exempt our society from taking oaths, — which was 
favorably received by the Lower House, but not by the Upper ; 
but in 1688 Lord Baltimore published a proclamation,* resolv- 
ing to dispense with oaths in testamentary cases. Thenceforth, 
those who had any scruples in the matter were privileged to 
affirm. The spirit of war has always been denounced by 
Friends as inconsistent with a Christian life, believing that 
arbitration is a much more peaceable and satisfactory mode of 
settling disagreements. Minutes state that collections were 
made several times for the benefit of their members suffering 
from the Revolutionary War in this country, and from the 
effects of the Rebellion in England and L'eland. Though 
there is but little evidence that the members in this portion of 
the world were very much disturbed by the commotions in the 
land. Collections were likewise made for the sufferers of the 
society, from other causes in Virginia, Barbadoes' and other 
localities. 

Much generosity was displayed in that age in assisting 
those claiming their sympathies, as well as in defraying the 
various expenses of the meeting. 

A testimony has always been maintained against the 
excessive use of spirituous liquors, and moderation has been 
observed ; but strenuous exertions are now being made in the 
Yearly Meetings to discard it even as a medicine. And 



Scharf's History of j\Iaryland. 



perhaps by the combined efforts of the Temperance Union 
the cause will not be hopeless; thus this country may in 
future years eradicate one of the greatest evils in our land. 

The feelings of triumph and gratitude are mingled in 
regard to the advanced movement of Friends in the emanci- 
pation of their own slaves. Yet it is difficult to reconcile the 
fact that they ever should have indulged in a. practice so 
inconsistent with their humane and Christian principles as that 
of holding fellow-beings in bondage ; not only the colored 
race, but white " redemptioners," as they were termed (be- 
cause they were held for a sufficient time to insure remunera- 
tion for their emigration). 

We are informed that it was a usual custom with Friends, 
after attending the sessions of West River Yearly Meeting, to 
go on board of the slave-ships (lying near by) and select their 
slaves. In one instance a slave was sold, and the money in- 
vested, the interest of which was given towards paying the 
expenses of traveHng Friends. The subject was agitated for 
a number of years before a definite action was taken. 

In 1759 the Yearly Meeting of Maryland advised care in 
importing and buying negroes ; in 1760 condemned importa- 
tion ; in 1762 condemned importing, buying or selling slaves 
without the consent of the meeting; but in 1777 slave-holding 
was made a disownable offense. 

The first William Dixon freed and provided for a number 
of his slaves long before the consciences of others had been 
moved in the matter. 

Some voluntarily manumitted theirs. Isaac Dixon, James 
and Benjamin Berry, Sarah Powell, Benjamin Parvin, John 
and Sarah Register, John and Magdaline Kemp and James 
Turner, were a few of the number. 

Schools were afterwards provided for the benefit of these 



colored people ; and their efforts were unceasing until the 
general manumission occurred in 1864. 

In 1797* the Nicholite Friends (so called because they 
were followers of Joseph Nichols) located in Caroline County, 
Maryland. After existing as a separate society for twenty 
years, finding that the vital and fundamental principles of our 
societies were alike, concluded that a union might prove of 
mutual advantage, therefore applied, and were accepted as 
members of Third Haven Meeting. 

Their rigid rules of discipline, especially in dress, being 
very objectionable to their young people, made them anxious 
for a little more liberty, — one of their points of self-denial 
being in regard to wearing d3/ed garments, and cultivating 
bright-colored flowers. Prior to the dissolution of their 
society, they generously transferred to this meeting their three 
meeting-houses in Caroline County, namely : Centre, Tucka- 
hoe Neck (near Denton) and Northwest Fork (now Pine 
Grove). About four hundred persons became incorporated 
with our society, though some afterwards emigrated to Canada 
and the Western States. Among those who remained here 
were Elisha Dawson, Elizabeth Twiford, and James Harris, all 
ministers in much esteem. Dennis Kelley and family. Levin 
Pool and family, John Wright and family, Preston Godwin and 
family, Samuel Emerson and family, Wm. Maloney and family, 
Willis Charles and family, Jonathan Shannahan and family, 
and Anthony Whitely, were some of the most prominent 
members who connected themselves with this meeting. 

The voices of valued Friends have resounded in this 
ancient building, proclaiming the word of God in earnest ap- 
peals for the salvation of our immortal souls, entreating all to 
follow the Christ-like examples of our blessed Saviour, and 

* Janney's Life of Fox. 

24 



could these walls but speak, they would echo the names of 
Ralph Fishbourne, Richard Johns, Stephen Keddy, Elizabeth 
Webb, Daniel Gould, Mary Rogers, Richard Townsend, 
Francis Howgill (who died a martyr to his faith in Appleby 
Jail, London); Joshua Healding, William Penn, Joshua Evans, 
Robert Jordon, Joshua Lord, Thomas Chalkly, Aaron Atkin- 
son, John and Samuel Fothergill, John Sykes, John Sleeper, 
John Woolman (the latter two made a pedestrian tour here, 
and to the various meetings in America), John Churchman, 
Thomas Thompson, Ezra Comfort, Susanna Lightfoot, Grace 
Fisher, Joshua Sharpless, Benjamin Ferris, Abraham Gibbons, 
Eli Yarnell, John and Joseph Richardson, John Register, Mary 
Berry, Susanna Needles, James Fairbanks, James Cockburn, 
Elias Hicks, Sarah Turner, John Comly, Philena Lay, Debbie 
Mifflin, Sarah Cowgill, John Needles, Daniel Bowers, Lucretia 
Mott, Samuel M. Janney, Hannah Leverton, Elizabeth New- 
port, Deborah Wharton, Joshua Noble, Mary S. Lippincott, 
John Parrish, Samuel Levick, Jonah Kelley, Lydia Price, 
Robert Hatton, Patience H. Jenkins and a multitude of others. 
The earthly pilgrimage of a majority of these is o'er, and 
doubtless they are enjoying the reward of the faithful; but of 
the number, none are more lamented, or the memory of any more 
cherished, than our lately deceased friend, Patience H. Jenkins. 
May the few who are surviving be encouraged in their exalted 
mission ! 

John Richardson gives the following account, in his 
Journal, of William Penn's visit here, in 1700. "We were," 
said he, " at a Yearly Meeting at Tredhaven, in Maryland, upon 
the Eastern Shore, to which meeting for worship came Wm. 
Penn, Lord and Lady Baltimore, with their retinue ; but it was 
late when they came, and the strength and glory of the 
heavenly power of the Lord was going off from the meeting; 

25 



so the lady was much disappointed, as I understand from Wm. 
Penn, for she told him she did not want to hear him, and such 
as he, for he was a scholar and a wise man, and she did not 
question but he could preach ; but she wanted to hear some of 
our mechanics preach, as husbandmen, shoemakers and such 
like rustics, for she thought they could not preach to any pur- 
pose. William Penn told her ' some of these were rather the 
best preachers we had among us.' " 

Letters and epistles were received and read in this meeting 
from William Penn as well as George Whitehead, Daniel Gould, 
and other prominent Friends. 

An interest has always been manifested in the welfare of 
the Indian race. The mild and persuasive treatment of George 
Fox, William Penn and others, seemed to insure their respect and 
confidence through succeeding generations. Therefore, credit is 
due the society for the primary step towards their promotion. 

So little did our early predecessors appreciate one of the 
comforts of life (as well as health), that for almost a century 
they had no means of heating this building (foot-stoves, filled 
with hot embers, were sometimes used by woman Friends). 
Some opposition was offered when a stove was proposed, and 
afterwards bought (in 1781), declaring that their religious zeal 
ought to be sufficient warmth. 

It is traditional (as well as authentic), that one of the 
members was so unyielding, that, to show his disapproval, he 
called it a " dumb idol," and made it a receptacle for his over- 
coat, but as there was no fire, no damage was done ; the follow- 
ing Sabbath he repeated the act without noticing the fire, and 
the odor arising from the smoking garment attracted his atten- 
tion (much to the amusement of the witnesses, especially the 
children), and Friend Parvin had the humiliation of going to 
its rescue — convinced, we hope, of his error. 

26 



This house was saved, twice, from being destroyed by 
fire ; once by a Friend, whose name was Sarah Berry (about 
the •year 1810) ; she extinguished the flame by rubbing it with 
a stick, not having time to obtain water, or give the alarm for 
assistance. 

This meeting sustained but httle loss in numbers by the 
separation which occurred in 1 828. But discouragements have 
arisen very often since, on account of a decrease, and apparent 
apathy, in upholding the many beautiful and living testimonies 
originated by our predecessors. But the recent addition of 
members from convincement, also from the North and West, 
since the causes of our Civil War have ceased, and this coun- 
try has assumed a tranquil and prosperous condition, has been 
very encouraging ; and we entertain a hope that the interest in 
these noble principles, may be perpetuated by the youth, as 
well as the older ones, in the establishment of the First-day 
schools and Bible classes. 

Ours at preseiTt promises .to be the means of nourish- 
ing our little meeting for many future years ; and whilst we 
cannot, in this progressive age, adhere to all of the peculiari- 
ties of our former worthies, let us not neglect the vital foun- 
dation points that they so valorously maintained, but 
endeavor to sustain ourselves as a society, which to-day 
has more influence in the religious world than it has ever 
done, because the revolutions of time have wrought its 
changes upon this enlightened age (our sect included), and 
some of the advanced views of our founders have been diffused 
throughout the Christian community. 

This ancient building brings many memories. Since its 
erection, great progress has been made in the arts and sciences 
— nations have been formed, and fallen asunder ; and now this 
house is following the course of all terrestrial things ; and will 

27 



soon be only a memory. Surely we may learn many lessons 
from these reflections. 

Let us then, with renewed zeal, strive for an enduring 
heavenly home. 

" Oh ! theii, that wisdom may we know, 

Which yields a hfe of peace below ; 
So in the world to follow this, 

May each repeat in tones of bliss, 
'We're all — all— here.' " 




28 



Lines, Written for the 200th Anniversary 
of Third Haven Meeting. 

By Susan E. Dickinson. Read by I. A. Barber. 

Across the perilous sea, 

Seeking a land where free 
From persecution they might worship God, 

Whose inner Spirit's word 

They hearkened for and heard 
In solemn stillness — lo, upon this sod, 
This fair peninsula, they forebore to roam. 
And 'mid the ancient forests made their home. 

Fair was the land that lay 

By Chesapeake's broad bay ; 
Tred Avon's waters laughed to see the sun 

Where'er the "Nvoods' thick shade 

Gave way to grassy glade ; 
There paused the wanderers ; there their rest was won 
From the oppressor's hand, — and, landing there. 
Built 'mid their cabin homes a place of prayer. 

They felt God's blessing rest 

Upon their ended quest. 
They felt his presence in the hush draw near. 

Or when his solemn word 

Some waiting spirit stirred 
To utterance in accents calm and clear. — 
His blessing prospered them, and from the strand 
Their homesteads stretched across the fertile land. 
29 



Thanking the Lord, whose grace 

Had made for them a place 
So broad and fair, they chose its fairest plot, 

Where on the higher ground 

The mighty oaks around 
Sheltered with sturdy arms the pleasant spot. 
Hard by, the forest spaces knew erelong 
The broad axe sounding o'er the wild-birds' song. 



Two years, with steadfast will, 

Our fathers wrought until 
Third Haven meeting-house they saw uprise 

Complete ; and, entering there 

While the soft summer air 
Breathed round them like the breath of Paradise, 
They waited on the Lord with reverent care 
Till silence trembled into praise and prayer. 



Yet, while each circling year 

Made the new home more dear, 
Doubtless each true heart oft and deeply yearned 

For faces far away, 

For tones from childhood's day 
Familiar — and in dreams of night returned 
To tread again the scenes long loved before 
They sought a refuge on the new world's shore. 



How full of fervent praise, 

Through all those early days, 
Was there rejoicing o'er the Friends who came 

Across the severing sea, 

In tenderest sympathy. 
With their hearts touched by Pentecostal flame. 
They brought the breath of home, which made the hour 
Of solemn meeting deeper in its power. 

30 



Here, too, the written word 

Full often thrilled and stirred 
The hearts of those who listened ; many a day 

These walls have echoed clear 

The message of good cheer, 
Of God's great love which knows not let or stay 
A message writ by Fox or Whitehead's hands 
To this beloved church in distant lands. 



The swift years will not bide ! 

Friends grew and multiplied, 
Great tents were spread beneath the ancestral trees 

When Half Year meeting's call 

Gathered in, great and small, 
The church's members. Yet, behold, of these 
Were none of those, the builders ! Fallen asleep 
In Christ, — their dust yon burial acres keep. 



New generations came 

And w^nt^but many a name 
Well known in ancient records vanished quite. 

The sin of ancient day — 

By Friends first put away — 
Darkened the land still. Fleeing from its blight 
Many had gone, as went their sires before 
From their old homes on England's distant shore. 



And in our modern times 

With their unrest, new climes 
Have beckoned many from our shores away. 

But we, who still remain. 

With loving heart are fain 
To keep the memory of that elder day. 
And honor those whose zeal and faith we know 
Builded this ancient fane so long ago. 

31 



Nor we alone. There are 

Not a few, scattered far, 
Some who ne'er looked upon this pleasant land. 

Who hold in reverent thought 

What their ancestors wrought 
In distant days on Chesapeake's green strand, 
And on Third Haven's anniversary day 
Greet it in loving thought, though far away. 



Oh, many a shrine of old 

Has memories manifold 
Tender and true and sacred clustered round 

Some falling to decay. 

Some glorious in array ; 
But, of the many held as holy ground, 
To us is none so dear as this we know 
Built by our sires two hundred years ago. 




32 



Then and Now. 

Written, by request, for the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement 

of Friends at Third Haven by Professor Wilson M. Tylor. 

Read by Robert B. Dixon. 

" Remorseless Time ! 
Fierce spirit of the glass and scythe I 
What power can stay him in his silent course, 
Or melt his iron heart to pity ! 
On, still on he presses, and forever." 

Prentice. 

How great is the mind of man, and how wonderful ! It 
grapples with complex subjects but to reduce them to compre- 
hensive simplicity. It measures the length and breadth of our 
land, and knows the coming of the seasons. It controls the 
destiny of nations, and penetrates the works of nature. It 
brings into action latent forces — commands them, and they 
obey. 

Yet how insignificant when it attempts to comprehend the 
duration of time, and to measure the untold length of the 
past ! 

Two hundred years ! what is it but a drop in the ocean, 
but a thought in the history^ of ages ? Yet, short as it is, gen- 
erations have come and gone-, the young have become old 
and passed away. Sturdy oaks, that withstood the storms of 
winters, and among whose inviting branches carolled birds for 
scores of summers, have flourished and fallen. 

33 



In yon silent yard lies entombed the ashes of those whose 
presence once made glad the heart, whose buoyant steps 
delighted the ears of loving friends, around whose board 
echoed the voices of happy children, and from whose gates 
the stranger turned not away. Those moss-covered stones 
and sodded mounds reminds us of loved ones whose hearts no 
longer pulsate with the quickened fire of youth, whose hoary 
heads no longer bow in humble reverence to the Author of 
Light. The young and the fair are there ; in the morn of life. 
Death waved his wand, and they are not. The middle-aged 
are there ; he pointed his pallid finger to the strong man, and 
his proud form lies prostrate. The aged are there ; he beckoned^ 
and they obeyed his summons. Those lie there whose wel- 
come voices once sounded within these walls, calling the 
attentive ones to a higher and better life. Here they were led in 
childhood, by the hands of faithful parents, tenderly instructed 
in the path of truth, became in after years expounders of the 
Word of Life, and, having finished their labors, folded their 
hands in peaceful rest, long before the recollection of the now 
living. 

We mingle to-day to worship again in this house, whose 
time-honored walls seem to bid us welcome, and on the face 
of whose rough-hewn timbers are written, " Passing away, 
passing away." Its plain, undecorated walls seem to echo the 
voices of long ago, and humbly call the weary soul to rest. 
Its unpainted benches remind us of the untarnished lives of 
Christians. Its unassuming door-ways, low ceilings and 
unsteepled roof are typical of the meek and lowly who adorn 
not the exterior, to be seen of men, but who worship God with 
an humble and contrite heart. No organ peal is heard ; but 
beyond the solemn silence break the heavenly words, *' Peace, 
be still." 

34 



Countless changes have been wrought since these founda- 
tions were laid. Cities have sprung into existence ; millions 
of acres, on whose surface civilization had never trod, have 
become fruitful ; foreign lands have been visited and peopled ; 
new nations have flourished, and old ones perished. Then, 
the forest still resounded to the axe of the settler, and the 
voice of the engine was unknown ; now, iron wheels thunder 
through the cleared and fertile valleys. Then, small crafts 
wandered over the trackless sea, subject to the whims of the 
wind ; now, iron steamers can stretch their foamy wake from 
shore to shore, regardless of the weather. Then, months 
were occupied in communicating with foreign countries ; now, 
electric cables pulsate with the heart-throbs of continents. 
Then, persecutions on account of religion were not unfrequent ; 
now, the glorious liberty of conscience extends throughout 
our land. 

When this building was erected, the author of Pilgrim's 
Progress was still preaching the gospel in England ; Dry den, 
the father of modern English prose, was in his glory, and the 
name of Alexander Pope had not been heard. It had stood 
thirty-three years before tliat great man, Joseph Addison, called 
his dissolute step-son to his bedside, that he might see with 
what peace a Christian could die. In this room the parents of 
Washington could have worshiped in childhood, and Peter the 
Great could have heard with profit the teachings of Jesus. 

In reviewing the changes wrought by the works of man, 
the thoughtful mind marvels with astonishment; but in con- 
templating the unchangeable laws of the Deity, we are dumb 
with admiration. During these twenty decades, man's works 
have crumbled to dust; but the sun, undiminished in glory, 
still moves in his mighty course, the King of Day ; while the 
moon, the faithful watcher of the night, reflects his splendor 

35 



as in the beginning. The unwearied stars still march to 
heavenly music, without deviation from their fixed course, 
and the earth still obeys His will unchanged. 

How long these shall continue, we know not ; but when 
heaven and earth shall pass away as a scroll, and be no more ; 
when the glory of the stars shall fade, and Time folds his 
snowy pinions in death, — this we know : that the Lord of Hosts 
stills reigns in majesty, for ever and ever, bringing to pass 
whatsoever He will. 

To-day we pay our parting tribute of respect to this feeble 
structure, which, for two hundred years, has sheltered the 
weary traveler as he paused a moment in life's journey to 
reflect. Its work is over, its tottering frame must crumble to 
the dust. No more will we mingle beneath its roof in silent 
worship, but as a garment have we cast it aside forever. 

Farewell ! the house of our fathers, farewell ! Soon we 
we will have finished our work on earth, and, like thee, our 
mortal bodies will be distributed to the elements. During 
the tempest and whirlwind thou hast stood firm; may no 
storm of temptation find us too weak to resist its violence. 

We are passing away ; our lives, like the waves, last but 
a moment ; our voices, like the sigh of the wind, are forgotten ; 
our forms 'are but clouds on the blue vault of life, changing 
and disappearing. In the impenetrable future, endless gen- 
erations will follow to take the places of those gone before. 
For them, as for us, will the rains descend, the flowers bloom, 
and the harvests be gathered in. 

Let us hope that the principles of love and truth, which 
we have set forth here, will roll, as a placid river, down the 
countless ages to come ; that the lives which embark on its 
bosom be gently borne to that haven of rest, where unnum- 
bered hosts dwell in eternal peace. 

36 



old Third Haven Meeting-House. 



Written at the request of Samuel F. Troth, a member of Third Haven 

Meeting from 1801 to 1818, by his daughter, Salhe, J. Troth. 

Read by Matilda J. Bartlett. 

The oakes were felled, the beams were placed 

Two hundred years ago ; 
Two hundred years of summer's heat, 

Of cold, and winter's snow. 

And, through those years, how many hearts 

Have met in worship there, 
Have listened to the preacher's voice. 

Or bowed in earnest prayer ? 

The birds have sung their lays above, 

The fresh wind stirred each tree. 
And others, in those by-gone days, 

Have heard and felt as we. 

Our-fathers' sires, and theirs, and theirs. 

Have sought that sheltered spot, 
And found that none who ask in faith 

Can say, " God answers not." 

There came the bridegroom and the bride, 

And spake the binding word 
Before assembled friends, and — "in 

The presence of the Lord." 

And near at hand, in quietness, 

How many lie at rest, 
Whose names are treasured household words, 

Whose memories are blest. 

37 



Dear house ! we love its very walls, 

Its old oak beams are dear ! 
So oft in it our ancestors 

Have known the Master near. 

But as the new years come and go, 

And other years fly past, 
Its time must close as theirs has closed, 

Its service end at last. 

And in the upper house of prayer, 

In peace and joy shall meet 
A ransomed throng, and bow them low 

At their Redeemer's feet. 

And sing His praise, who, through the years, 

With gentle patient hand, 
A Shepherd true, has led his sheep 

Into Emmanuel's land. 

May we, and many passed away. 

Rejoicingly meet there ; 
And fill the upper courts with praise. 

As that was filled with prayer. 




38 



The Quaker of the Olden Time. 

Selection from Whittier. Read by Helen C. Shreve. 

The Quaker of the olden time ! 

How calm and firm and true, 
Unspotted by its wrong and crime, 

He walked the dark earth through. 
The lust of power, the love of gain, 

The thousand lures of sin 
Around him, had no power to stain 

The purity within. 

With that deep insight which detects 

All great things in the small, 
And knows how each man's life affects 

The spiritual life of all. 
He walked by faith, and not by sight ; 

By love, and not by law ; 
The presence of the wrong or right 

He rather felt than saw. 

He felt that wrong with wrong partakes, 

That nothing stands alone ; 
That whoso gives the motive, makes 

His brother's sin his own. 
And, pausing not for doubtful choice 

Of evils great or small. 
He listened to that inward voice 

Which called away from all. 

39 



Oh ! spirit of that early day, 

So pure and strong and true, 
Be with us in the narrow way 

Our faithful fathers knew ! 
Give strength the evil to forsake. 

The cross of truth to bear. 
And love and reverent fear to make 

Our daily lives a prayer ! 




40 



Addresses, 



Dr. James Carey Thomas, of Baltimore said : — 

Having been unexpectedly asked by the chairman of this 
anniversary meeting to say a few words, I cannot forbear 
expressing how great an interest I have felt in listening to the 
history of the venerable house under whose roof we are 
assembled. These old buildings give a remarkable reality to 
past scenes. Last month, 7, 10, '84, the inhabitants of the 
town of Delft, in Holland, kept as a great and solemn occasion 
the three-hundredth anniversary of the assassination of William 
of Orange, the great hero and liberator of the Netherlands^ 
rendered vivid by the existence of the house in w^hich he was 
murdered, which stands unchanged, so that the descendants 
of the people freed by his self-denying efforts may still see 
the recess in the narrow staircase where Gerard, the assassin, 
stood waiting for his victim. The results of that great struggle 
still remain a blessing to Holland. So these old meeting-houses 
in this country and in England, remind us of the labor, the 
courage and the work of George Fox and his noble band of 
laborers more than two hundred years ago. The meeting- 
house, near Swarthmore Hall, where George Fox lived, is kept 
in its original condition, and preserves the Bible which Fox 
had chained to the gallery rail ; and near Chalfonte, Jordan's 

41 



meeting-house, where William Penn often preached, and in 
whose quiet graveyard he lies buried, is still arranged, not only 
for the seating of a goodly number in the meeting-room, but 
has in the second-story rooms for the sleeping-place of travel- 
ing friends, and in the basement accommodation for the care 
of their horses. I have no doubt that the two forty-feet 
rooms in the second story of this old building might have 
been used as chambers for friends in the ministry. George 
Fox, the last of the great reformers, carried the theory of the 
Reformation to its ultimate result. Knowing by his own 
experience that in the soul's extremity human aid availed little, 
he realized that there was one who could speak to his condi- 
tion, even Jesus Christ. So he was able to bring men and 
women to Christ, and leave them there. He recognized that 
in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female^ and pro- 
claimed equality of personal and individual right and respon- 
sibility to all men. The church was a collection of brethren 
and sisters, differing only as the recipients of different gifts 
and grace, which were to be recognized gladly. Believing 
that he is the best citizen of earth " whose citizenship is in 
heaven," he taught that the Christian has duties to be faith- 
fully performed in civil society as well as in the church. It 
was this conviction that has made Friends so prominent in all 
reforms that have had to do with the promotion of the welfare 
of their fellow-men. Obedience to daily requirement of duty, 
faithfulness to convictions of right, simple allegiance to the 
Lord, will make our j^lives, as theirs were, a blessing to all 
around us. May these lessons be the lessons that we shall 
learn in the remembrance of two hundred years ago, and of 
the men and women who then labored so faithfully and suc- 
cessfully. 



42 



Clement BIddle, of Chadd's Ford, Pennsylvania : — 

It is meet that those who are interested in this monthly 
meeting should extend to other friends and neighbors an invi- 
tation to join them on this occasion. The feehng of my mind 
has been that they have indeed reason for gratitude to the 
Father of their being, that the lines have fallen to them in 
pleasant places in the outward ; that all of us .who live in 
this mild zone of the earth have reason thus ; and whilst we 
cannot dwell too long on these points, the feeling of my mind 
has also been, on this occasion, that we have still greater rea- 
son for gratitude than this, in that we are more gifted in the 
inner than in the outward being. 

I differ from our early " Historical Record " with regard, 
however, to the credit accorded in it for the enjoyment of the 
former of these gifts to Lord Baltimore. In the charter 
to Lord Baltimore was the provision that the laws passed in 
the Province should receive the advice, assent, and approba- 
tion of the people ; and I think that this clause had more 
influence in producing the toleration policy pursued by Lord 
Baltimore than any inclination of his own. For he was a 
Catholic, and, as we look-back upon him, we must look through 
the lives of two centuries, not by the lights of the present 
time ; and such a voluntary policy at that time would not have 
been in keeping with the man or his church. But toleration 
was a totally different idea from the great principle enunciated 
by George Fox; it was the idea of Roger Williams which 
gave tolerance to others in their worship, a mere indulgence, 
and an entirely different principle from that of George Fox, 
who said that men, male and female, were equal, and in each 
were inherent rights of freedom of conscience, and that these 
could not consequently be given by another. This was the 
ground of the founder of an adjoining State (Pennsylvania); 

43 



and it is because of the benefits that have accrued from this 
freedom of civil law that we have reason to return gratitude 
indeed unto God on high. So that while we may be thankful 
that our forefathers were allov/ed to worship according to their 
faith without interference, yet toleration is one thing ; but to 
recognize the Divine right of equality and freedom of con- 
science is quite another — that is freedom indeed. Therefore it 
is that we should prove ourselves Friends. We stand before 
the world professing the name of Friends — we should prove 
ourselves friends to them. Ye are my friends if ye do what- 
soever I command you. 

I would say to the young here, who are entering, as it 
were, upon the development of their manhood and woman- 
hood, that with you it is just as you fulfill your destiny. As 
has been said, you are every one of you to be influences in the 
world either for good or for evil ; and if you will submit to the 
operations of his light and his Christ in your hearts, you will 
turn with thanks in the future to that which has been done in 
the past, your heavenly Father will open wide the doors of 
your hearts to his heavenly influence, his divine attributes, 
and you will be filled with that wisdom with which he sustains 
those faithful in his service. But you cannot rest upon that 
which has been done in the past. You each have missions to 
perform in life, and, as you expect to become children of the 
Light, you must accept these responsibilities, and labor in the 
service of your Lord amongst your fellows, as did Jesus while 
on earth ; and if you will thus, indeed, become co-workers and 
co-laborers with Him, you will realize all the happiness which 
was designed by Him for your portion here on earth, and the 
glorious compensation for your services in the hereafter. 

L.ofC. 



44 



Dr. Sarah Rogers, of Philadelphia, Pa, : — 

(The first few sentences of the speaker were not exactly 
caught by the reporter, but it is thought they were as follows.) 
As I stand before you to-day, I exercise a privilege which I 
never expected to find accorded me ; but I have felt as I have 
listened to the beautiful exercises this morning, and have sat in 
this house, erected two hundred years ago by the patient labors 
of our forefathers, that I too must give utterance to my feel- 
ings in this place of freedom in religious worship. I have 
felt many times that bonds were continually being thrown off, 
and privileges extended, but since sitting here I have realized 
it more than I ever did before. In this age of liberty of action 
and conscience, privileges which our forefathers were denied, 
I sometimes fear that we rest too much in our rights, and there- 
fore I have felt like rising in your midst, and asserting my 
mind's mission, that my duty may be fulfilled. You who are 
assembled here with us to-day, — for we know no distinction, — 
you know wherein'your duties lie. 

I have been thoroughly interested in listening to the his- 
tory of this house. The education of the young was early 
thought JO f, and one wonian teacher was recorded. At that 
day it was not felt that woman was of so much importance 
as man ; but the men who came to this country, and founded this 
meeting-house, recognized the rights of woman, and accorded 
them to her. Later on, slavery was felt to be a curse, and 
Friends gave up the system of slavery. To-day we find our 
women filling places in life which are a credit to them. In 
this meeting I find there is no want of children ; train up a 
child in the way he should go, and he will not depart from it. 
I feel sometimes, that we do not yield enough to the prompt- 
ings of the Spirit within us, therefore I desire you to seek, 
each of you, your own missions, and fulfill them. 

45 



Lydia Price, of West Chester, Pa : — 

The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth, but the word 
of the Lord endureth forever ; the word that was in the begin- 
ning, that has been in all ages of the world ; it went into 
every man, and every woman ; it went into the fathers, and 
the mothers who were wont to gather in this house for two 
hundred years, — the indwelling Spirit. And we who are 
called Friends have made the profession of being led and 
guided by this Spirit. Oh that we may always be worthy to 
be found as such, giving place unto its teachings ! This in- 
dwelling Spirit — oh that we may be obedient to it ! I have 
thought, while sitting here, that some of our spirits have been 
lifted up from this place to the mansions of our Father's house, 
this love which has been spoken of pervading our hearts, love 
of the Father, and love of our fellow-men, love for the eternal 
truth, and of God the father of all truth and of all the living. 
This Christ. We feel that God is love. And as we learn 
more of this inspeaking word — more of God's Holy Spirit, we 
feel as one who, having departed from home, has been gathered 
again to the heart of his God. The death which seems to 
overtake us, simply points to a life wherein no blind child can 
stray beyond its Father's sight. Oh ! blessed is this thought, 
and truly blessed are they who come to know of this indwell- 
ing Spirit. I would that we may all one day enter into it, that 
we may know of this love of which Jesus spoke when he said, 
" One commandment I give unto you : That you love one another 
as I love you." Oh that our lives may be of this unselfish 
nature, like the laying down of selfish life that we may be 
bound together in love, true to the principles of our fore- 
fathers, true to the teachings of the Holy Spirit, true to our 
consciences ! Not that the truth which is the same forever 
deters advancement, but that our advancement should be so 

46 



crossed by this perfect love that there should be no sectarian 
want of breadth in our principles. It is proper for us to feel 
that we are children of one great family, then are we Friends 
indeed, Friends of the Spirit, and we shall be a blessing to the 
world in which we live, and the earth be better for our having 
lived in it. 

Edwin H. Coates, of Philadelphia, Pa. : — 

The lines of a very eminent writer came very forcibly 
before my mind in looking on these old rafters before me, which 
we have called a meeting-house wherein your fathers and their 
fathers have worshiped for the last two hundred years. 

" 'Tis not in temples made with stone 

The great Creator dwells ; 
But on the mountain top he stands 

And in the lonely dells. 
Wherever fervent prayer is heard 

He stands recording every word. 
In dell, on mountain, everywhere. 

He never fails to answer prayer. 
The temple thy Creator owns, 

That temple is the heart. 
No costly pile of wood or stone, 

No work of human art. 
The cloud-capped spire may point on high. 

And draw the lightning from the sky. 
But 'tis the humble, modest flower 

That drinks in the refreshing shower. 
And, in return for favors given, 

Breathes its sweet fragrance up to heaven. 

There is a feeling of gratitude pervading my mind on this 
occasion as I see the large assembly who have favored us with 
their presence, who, although not strictly Friends, have yet come 
here to show their respect and love for these, our members. And 

47 



I gladly look forward to that good time coming when we shall 
be very much nearer together than we are to-day ; when we 
shall better understand each other than now ; when there will 
be but one feeling among men, and that will be a desire for all 
to rise higher and higher, and come into a greater enjoyment 
of those things which were given unto us to enjoy. And 
while I am glad and rejoiced in hearing that very remarkable 
history read to-day, giving credit to the society for its part in 
removing the curse of slavery, yet I think there is one thing 
which has been omitted. I want to call the attention of all 
present to another testimony which Friends always have borne, 
and continue to bear — that against war. Slavery has passed 
away, but there are still the clamorings of war. We see many 
nations still have a disposition to resort to the sword. And 
let me say this has been one of the many testimonies of 
Friends, and I am glad to bear that testimony. Friends have 
always held forth to the world the soundness of the principles 
of arbitration. And I have felt called upon to bear this testi- 
mony against war here to-day with every feeling of respect 
and deference toward those with whom we are assembled ; and' 
I thmk there are none here who would not be glad if the time 
were here when the sword shall be beaten into the plow 
share and the spear into the pruning hook, and love and good- 
will pervade all the nations of the earth. To that end may we 
all labor, and when it does come will the earth be governed 
by Divine law, and Christ's spirit will prevail in our souls, 
so that we shall dwell in love and peace on earth until we 
come into that higher realm of love. 



48 



Samuel J. Levick, of Philadelphia, Pa. : — 

It must be manifest that the time is not far distant when 
this opportunity that has brought us together must come to a 
close, and we who are gathered here to-day from the various 
walks of Hfe, must turn our faces homeward. My home, 
to-day, is in Philadelphia, but I spring on my paternal side of 
the house from those who have long been connected with 
Friends n this section. My ancestors were among those who 
as early as 1680 found a home on this peninsula, and they for 
many generations were interested in establishing and perpet- 
uating the great principles that we still are called together to 
present and miaintain. These principles are the same which Jesus 
Christ handed down to us, and which were to redeem and to 
save those who were lost. These were the men who presented 
the great truths of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ to the world, which had been covered by clouds and 
darkness. Barriers had risen up, oppression had come, and 
men had come to believe in other things than the doctrines 
taught by Jesus Christ. There was stamped upon the minds 
of men the belief that only in the Holy Scriptures was the 
source to be found from' which flowed a knowledge of God ; 
that this was the only Divine revelation. And so it became 
necesary that there be teachers sent forth to preach to the peo- 
ple, and they had to be educated that the people might come 
to hear them. Thus it came to pass that there were no other 
means open to the people whereby they might become 
acquainted with the will of God but through this medium. 
Then came this illiterate man — illiterate certainly from the 
standpoint of to-day, but who had been faithful to his duties 
as they were assigned him, and while a mere boy he became 
sensible of the visitings of the Divine Spirit in his soul, and 
of its teachings. The Holy Scriptures were opened unto him, 

49 



and he was shown that it was not enough for a man to be 
educated at Oxford or Cambridge to quaHfy him to preach the 
gospel. It needed something more than this, not that he 
should not be educated, but education was not a sufficient 
qualification. It required the qualification, which was the 
only one that the Apostles had. They were not of the learned 
men of that day ; they were fishermen, and Jesus called therti, 
and told them to follow' him and he would make them fishers 
of men. And so they received him into their hearts, obeyed 
his commandments and learned of him, and he sent them 
forth as sheep among wolves to preach the everlasting gospel, 
endowed only with a wisdom and power from on high. This was 
the qualification that was sent forth to redeem the world. This 
was the qualification that Fox had. This was what he pre- 
sented, and on the strength of this he became a mighty man 
of his day. When we contemplate the labor he endured, and 
the delay and suffering, and yet what he accomplished, we are 
compelled to believe that nothing but the sustaining hand of 
Almighty God could have enabled him to perform what he 
did. But we are not dependent upon the past for what we 
have, any more than the past was dependent upon its past, we 
have the same Christ, the same life, the same power to-day, 
and to as full an extent as was ever given to the children of 
men. We have greater advantages, but we must remember 
that where much is given much will be required ; that we can- 
not shrink from the obligations that are imposed upon us. 
Every one here this morning has some duty. Not only may 
we work for our lives, but we may also work for the salvation 
of others. Let thy light so shine before men that they 
may see thy good works and glorify thy Father which is in 
heaven. 

We come to commemorate the past, and it is well to 

50 



commemorate the past in social rejoicing with our neighbors, 
at the blessings which God in his love has placed here. He 
sent our fathers to a free and plenteous land, and we may thank 
him for this. We, their children, are now enjoying the fruits 
of their labors. But still, for us all, there is work a.ssigned. 
Let us on and on and on, and by faithfulness in following his 
commandments we may more and more exalt our lives, and 
bring them nearer that true civilization and true life. 

Rev. A. W. Li^htburne, of M. E. Church, Easton, Md. :— 

I have been very much interested in the historical study 
and personal reminiscences to which we have listened, and my 
mind has been specially engaged this morning in running a 
parallel, which has proved very beautiful to me, between the 
like careers of George Fox and John Wesley. And there is a 
striking similarity between these tw^o men. Whilst one was 
born in 1624, I believe, and the other in 1703, yet both of 
these men were endued with the same spirit, and their life 
work was of the same character. 

And it has seemed to me that although George Fox was 
precluded from any responsibility to John Wesley for the 
plans and methods which he adopted, and from any obligation 
for any special view of his mission, yet I think it would be 
impossible for me to say that of John Wesley in his relation 
to George Fox. And I do think that Methodism and John 
Wesley were greatly indebted to George Fox for their doctrine. 
And this is one thing that makes me feel at home here to-day. 
That doctrine is the doctrine of one light and of one life. 
That every man and every woman is to know individually that 
they are saved, not by any communication from any living 
person ; not through the mumblings of any priest ; but through 
the direct spiritual communication of God. Of course, this is 

51 



the doctrine of the Bible. It is this doctrine, and just this 
doctrine, which is the very spirit and the very Hfe of the teach- 
ings of the Scriptures ; and this is what gives the Bible its 
vitality in the world. I believe this is that hidden life principle 
in the blood which circulates through the veins, which circu- 
lation was discovered not so many years ago, although it 
existed very many years before its discovery. And as this 
blood carries life and freedom to all parts of the body, just so 
do I believe there is a salvation through this teaching of the 
gospel of Christ, this living principle. It is not the word, it 
is not the letter, but it is the spirit that giveth life. That is 
what we read in the 6th chapter, 63d verse of St. John : 
*^ What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where 
he was before ? It is the spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh 
profiteth nothing ; the words that I speak unto you, they are 
spirit, and they are life." That is the reason that Jesus Christ 
said, " It is expedient that I go away ; ye shall see greater 
things, and know greater things ; for after I go away, I shall 
send you a comforter." So it was that Jesus was to establish 
his church, not our church, but the church of the living God, 
in the hearts of men the world over ; and on the day of Pente- 
cost, when the disciples were gathered together in the temple, 
the Spirit of the Living God came over them as with the sound 
of a rushing wind. The Holy Ghost filled them, and they 
spoke the word of the Living God in sixteen languages. 
That was the establishment of the Church. It was the descent 
of the power of Almighty God. This is to be our salvation^ 
and if we put our faith and hope in other things, it is idolatry 
of means and methods, rather than reverence of the Spirit of 
the Living God. 



52 



Closing Exercises. 



Letters were received from the following Friends : Mary 
S. Lippincott, Camden, N. J. ; S. and L. J. Roberts, Philadel- 
phia, Pa. ; Isaac Martindale, Camden, N. J. ; Harriet E. Kirk, 
Johnsville, Pa.; Sarah Hoopes, West Chester, Pa.; Rebecca M. 
Thomas, Sandy Springs, Md. ; Joseph S. Hartley, Alliance, 
Ohio; Allen Flitcraft, Chester, Pa. ; Mary G. Moore, Fallston, 
Md.; Henry F. Willis, Preston, Md.; William Wood, Gwynedd, 
Pa. ; Joseph B. Livezey, Clarksboro, N. J. ; Edith W. Atlee, 
Philadelphia, Pa. ;- Darlington Hoopse, Sarah Hunt, West 
Grove, Pa. ; H. and V. E. Ridgely, Dover, Del. ; Susan Roberts, 
Rebecca N. Iredell, Bristol, Pa. ; S. S. Ash, Philadelphia, Pa. ; 
Priscilla S. Walton, Ercildoun, Pa. ; Rachael T. Hoopes, For- 
rest Hill, Md. ; Jonathan Plumley, Chicago, 111. ; N. I. King, 
Baltimore, Md., and others, — some of which were read by 
Joseph Bartlett. 

The exercises prepared by the committee being completed, 
we were favored by voluntary expressions from many present. 

Lydia Hall, of West Chester, added briefly expressed 
words of encouragement. The meeting closed with fervently 
expressed prayer by Dr. J. Carey Thomas. 

The general expressions of satisfaction by those present, 
the spiritual awakening, the pleasant social mingling with vis- 
iting friends, ^has caused a feeling of thankfulness that it has 

53 



been our privilege to enjoy the peace, prosperity, religious 
freedom and advancement of this enlightened age. We trust 
that when the exercises of to-day shall have receded into the 
dim past, that those who are to follow us, and, through faithful- 
ness, shall have ascended to a higher plane, a purer civilization, 
accompanied with all the blessings we are led to hope for in 
the growing future, they may turn to a perusal of their quaint 
exercises, and feel a pleasure therein. We feel that this occasion 
has renewed our zeal. The retrospective character of these 
exercises seem to e'mbue our hearts with the full realization 
that we are all subject to the inward teachings of the Father, 
alike subject to his divine laws, alike rewarded for faithful- 
ness. 




54 



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